NCLAT stays ban on WhatsApp sharing data with parent Meta

The Nationwide Firm Legislation Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Thursday stayed a five-year data-sharing ban imposed by competitors watchdog CCI on data-sharing practices between WhatsApp and its dad or mum Meta for promoting functions, providing a breather to the tech big.

Meta had challenged the Competitors Fee of India’s (CCI) directive issued in November 2024 that imposed a ban on knowledge sharing between WhatsApp and different Meta entities for promoting functions, warning it could must roll again some options. It had additionally slapped a Rs 213 core penalty on Meta for abuse of its “dominant place.” CCI had additionally concluded that WhatsApp’s 2021 privateness coverage replace unfairly compels customers to comply with broad assortment of knowledge and its sharing inside Meta group.

NCALT suspended the ban in the course of the time it hears Meta’s problem to the antitrust ruling. NCLAT will subsequent hear the case on March 17.

Meta welcomed the “NCLAT’s determination to grant a partial keep on the Competitors Fee of India’s (CCI) order” and mentioned it’s going to consider subsequent steps.

“Whereas we are going to consider subsequent steps, our focus stays on discovering a path ahead that helps hundreds of thousands of companies that depend upon our platform for development and innovation in addition to offering high-quality experiences that folks anticipate from WhatsApp,” a Meta spokesperson mentioned.

In November, the CCI imposed a penalty of Rs 213.14 crore on social media main Meta for unfair enterprise methods with respect to the WhatsApp privateness coverage replace executed in 2021.

Meta Platforms and WhatsApp had challenged this order earlier than the NCLAT, which is an appellate authority over the orders handed by the CCI.

In its 156-page order, the CCI had on November 18, 2024, directed Meta to stop and desist from anti-competitive practices.

Based on that CCI order, Meta and WhatsApp have additionally been requested to implement sure behavioural cures inside an outlined timeline to handle the anti-competition points.

The regulator known as for implementing numerous remedial measures, together with barring WhatsApp from sharing knowledge collected on its platform with different Meta firms or Meta firm merchandise for promoting functions for 5 years.

Amongst different instructions, CCI had mentioned that sharing of consumer knowledge collected on WhatsApp with different Meta firms or Meta firm merchandise for functions apart from for offering WhatsApp companies shall not be made a situation for customers to entry WhatsApp companies in India.